• commentary
  • TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7 2006 3:00 PM

Voter Intimidation Already Getting Started

Submitted by legionnaire

Edited by Rahodeb

Tags: Virginia, voter intimidation, election

Election day is barely half over and the heated battle between Democratic challenger Jim Webb and incumbent George Allen for the Virginia Senate seat has already brought out some of the worst in election day shenanigans.

In the Washington, D.C., area, NBC affiliate News4 reported on its Web site that it had received e-mail from a viewer in Virginia who said he received a phone call from so-called volunteers threatening voters with arrest if they cast ballots.

News4 reported: “The viewer's e-mail stated after he had voted, he received a call from an unknown caller who said they knew the voter was registered out of state and would be arrested if they voted today. The viewer's e-mail stated he's been registered to vote in Virginia for the last three years and has the Virginia Voter Registration card to prove it.”

The Webb campaign also said other voters are getting calls telling them their polling location has changed.

There are also allegations that fliers that say, "Skip This Election," are blanketing African-American communities, News4 reported.


Ain't democracy grand?

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Comments
_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

NOV 07, 2006 03:03 PM

People are disgusting.

Zarth

zarth

Seattle, WA
December 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:06 PM

It could be worse. It used to be worse.

You people and your ideals.

mamet

mamet

Charleston, SC
March 2005

NOV 07, 2006 03:08 PM

Nice.

SOMASLEEPS

SOMASLEEPS

Vienna, VA
May 2005

NOV 07, 2006 03:10 PM

everyone should be intimidated, constantly.

FunkySkunk

FunkySkunk

Gainesville, FL
July 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:12 PM



The viewer's e-mail stated after he had voted, he received a call from an unknown caller



How credible is this twice removed, nameless accusation? whatever

MrCrisp

MrCrisp

I'm lost
August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:14 PM

just in time:

MoveOn Offers $250,000 Reward for Evidence Leading to Voter Fraud Conviction

MoveOn.org Political Action is offering a $250,000 reward for new material evidence leading to a felony conviction for an organized effort of partisan voter suppression or electronic voting fraud.

Throughout the day accusations of election fraud and voter suppression incidents have been flooding into state and federal authorities throughout the country. In Virginia, the FBI has launched a criminal investigation into charges of voter suppression. In 20 Congressional districts, NRCC robocalls appearing to have come from Democrats harassed voters with repeated calls in an apparently coordinated campaign to suppress the vote.

Complementing an earlier reward for whistleblowers, MoveOn's reward is being offered to anyone who provides this information.



FunkySkunk said:


The viewer's e-mail stated after he had voted, he received a call from an unknown caller



How credible is this twice removed, nameless accusation? whatever



heaven forbid somebody would want to protect their anonymity. if that's not enough for you, the article mentions the same thing happening to numerous voters, and their are names included. that has to be one of the laziest rebuttals i've read yet.

FunkySkunk

FunkySkunk

Gainesville, FL
July 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:26 PM

a source quoting an anonymous viewer's email that speaks of a call he received from someone he didn't know who told him not to vote is definately heresay. Anyone could write an email claiming they got some mysterious phone call, I'm just questioning the validity of using that in a news article. *Apologizes for wanting credible sources that can be checked*

MrCrisp

MrCrisp

I'm lost
August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:28 PM

FunkySkunk said:
a source quoting an anonymous viewer's email that speaks of a call he received from someone he didn't know who told him not to vote is definately heresay. Anyone could write an email claiming they got some mysterious phone call, I'm just questioning the validity of using that in a news article. *Apologizes for wanting credible sources that can be checked*



again, read the article:

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

State Board of Elections Secretary Jean Jensen said her office had forwarded several reports to the FBI of phone calls to voters apparently aimed at misleading them into not voting or directing them to the wrong polling place.

"If something is going on that worries and alarms voters enough that I'm contacted to look into it, I have a responsibility to do that," Jensen said.

Voters in the cities of Covington, Hampton and Colonial Heights and the counties of Accomack, Northampton and Fairfax reported getting deceptive telephone calls in the days before the election informing them that their voting places had changed, when they had not, Jensen said.

In Arlington County, resident Timothy Daly said he got a phone message Sunday, said to be from the "Virginia Elections Commission," telling him he was registered to vote in New York so he couldn't vote in Virginia.

"If you do show up, you will be charged criminally," said the message, the text of which appeared on Daly's affidavit to the Board of Elections.

Lawrence Peter Baumann, a Northampton County resident, said in his affidavit that he got a call on Friday from a woman claiming to be from the Webb campaign. He said he assured her he planned to vote for Webb.

"She then told me that I would be voting at West Reed Street. I told her that there was no street by that name and that if she was supposed to be helping Webb, she needed to give correct information," Baumann's affidavit said. "She never gave me the correct precinct and never offered to get back to me with my correct precinct."



it's serious enough to warrant an investigation, apparently, but i guess that's not good enough for you. i agree with you on one thing, though: damn these people for not recording unexpected phone conversations!

if it's a first person account, it's not hearsay. look up the definition. he must have revealed his identity to the news organization, otherwise his account wouldn't be considered legitimate. how's that for "validity of using that in a news article?" why the news organization chose to grant him anonymity and not reproduce his name is not the issue.

FunkySkunk

FunkySkunk

Gainesville, FL
July 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:35 PM

Did I say I had a problem with the entire article or the lack of a source in one of the paragraphs? whatever Chill out, check your reading comprehension skills and let me know when you quote something that addresses my concern. Copying and pasting a news article that has no relevance has got to be one of the laziest rebuttals I've ever seen.

MrCrisp

MrCrisp

I'm lost
August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:42 PM

read the second half of my response before you criticize my reading comprehension skills, smart ass.

but please, keep commenting. from what i've seen in the past, people from florida are definitely experts when it comes to matters like voter supression and election fraud.

Gringo

Gringo

Spokane, WA
May 2006

NOV 07, 2006 03:48 PM

Legionnaire, you forgot the http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061107/ap_on_el_ge/eln_voting_problems story in AZ where three dudes harrassed Mexicans....one with a gun.

Also, in this story:

In another dirty trick controversy, Democrats accused Republicans of sponsoring automated "robo-calls" that have infuriated voters around the country. The recorded calls, which reached a fever pitch in the days leading up to the election, automatically dial and re-redial, promoting or trashing a candidate.



And I thought that scheme was outlawed since that one episode aired on the Simpsons.

I <heart> the Associated Press simply because they state facts and not opinions. OK, most of the time.

EDIT - Fuck, the URL thing isn't working for me. I need a link for some sort of remedial posting.

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

I'm lost
July 2006

NOV 07, 2006 03:49 PM

FunkySkunk said:
a source quoting an anonymous viewer's email that speaks of a call he received from someone he didn't know who told him not to vote is definately heresay. Anyone could write an email claiming they got some mysterious phone call, I'm just questioning the validity of using that in a news article. *Apologizes for wanting credible sources that can be checked*



meh. The only thing here is the anonymity of the quoted source. Doesn't that suggest to you that intimidation might have succeeded, a bit? Hearsay, maybe. But this is exactly how voter intimidation works: by making them too scared to stand up and be counted.


phrogg

phrogg

Greenville, SC
August 2005

NOV 07, 2006 03:50 PM

Let me see if I understand this: Virginia is the new Ohio.
Which was the new Florida.

It's funny how my home state of SC - which has nothing at stake - has elections running as smooth as silk.

starguitar

starguitar

Canada
August 2004

NOV 07, 2006 03:55 PM

This kind of thing is as old as the USA. Not to say that we shouldn't still strive for the ideal, but thuggery and elections have almost always gone hand in hand in this country.

Hooraydiation

Hooraydiation

Boston, MA
October 2005

NOV 07, 2006 04:00 PM

http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2006/11/election-fixing-charges-fly-in-utah.html

Voter Fraud a go go already.

The amount of voters in Daggett County is four times the population.

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